The subject matter described herein relates generally to turbines, such as axial turbines of turbochargers and engines, for example.
Known vehicles and engines, such as powered rail vehicles and off-highway vehicle (OHV) engines, include turbines, such as axial turbines. The turbines may be used in turbochargers that are part of or fluidly coupled with the engines of the vehicles. Alternatively, the turbines may be coupled with crankshafts, alternators, or generators of the engines. The turbines include blades that are joined with a disk, which is joined with a shaft. The blades, the disk, and the shall are located within a protective shroud of the turbine. The shroud receives a moving fluid that engages the blades and causes the blades to rotate. Rotation of the blades causes the shaft to rotate. The rotation of the shaft may be used to generate electric current or other power. For example, the shaft may be joined with an alternator or generator that creates an electric current based on the rotation of the shaft.
The turbine may experience catastrophic failure as the blades and disk are rotating. During such a failure, one or more blades may separate from the disk and become liberated. Additionally, the disk may rupture and one or more pieces of the disk may become liberated. The liberated blades and pieces can be moving at a significantly fast speed and have relatively large kinetic energy and/or momentum. The shroud may be positioned to absorb some of the energy and momentum of the liberated blades. But, highly energetic blades and disk pieces may burst through the shroud and damage other nearby devices or persons.
Some turbines have shrouds that are manufactured to be very large and thick. The larger shrouds may be capable of absorbing more energy and/or momentum of the liberated blades and disk pieces, but the large size of the shrouds prevent the turbines from being used in one or more machines or engines. For example, the space in which the turbine is to be located may have a relatively small opening through which the turbine is loaded. If the shroud is too large, then the turbine may not be able to be placed into the space. As a result, a tradeoff exists between the strength of the shrouds and the size of the shrouds. On one hand, the turbines may have relatively weak shrouds that are capable of fitting in relatively tight spaces. On the other hand, the turbines may have relatively large and stronger shrouds that are incapable of fitting in the relatively tight spaces.